Authorities in South Korea have released a preliminary report on the cause of the country’s deadliest plane crash, which claimed the lives of 179 people, leaving only two survivors.
This crash, which occurred on December 29th, shocked South Korea, and authorities immediately announced the formation of teams to investigate the cause of the tragedy.
The first report, though not complete, revealed that duck DNA was found in both engines, specifically of Baikal teals that migrate to South Korea in large flocks during the winter.
Although the report does not explicitly state that this caused the crash, it showed that the bird threat warning issued by the control tower to the Jeju Air aircraft was credible.
Two questions, however, remain unanswered: why the landing equipment failed and why four minutes of the flight recording are missing.
The next step for South Korean authorities will be a thorough investigation of the disassembled engines, which were immediately retrieved upon arrival at the crash site. These are expected to provide more context to the theory of a collision with ducks, which currently appears to be the most plausible explanation for the cause of this tragedy.
Additionally, it remains to be determined exactly when the collision occurred and to provide the public with answers to the two most critical questions that remain a mystery.
